On a warm but windy day in May, four of us went down to where the Connecticut River meets Long Island Sound to spend some time at what was the home of the late Katharine Hepburn, the iconic actress who called Old Saybrook her paradise.

The mansion once owned by the four time Academy Award winning actress and just down the way from the theater in town named after her (The Katharine Hepburn Cultural Arts Center), is now owned by a family from New York.

Myself, a member of the board of trustees of The Kate, Bob Czepiel, also a trustee, Peter Johns, Box office manager, and long time friend of Ms. Hepburn’s, Cindy LeMay, sat in the sun alongside the fabulous home.

We are continuing work on a documentary about Hepburn and the people who knew her. It will run continuously in the Katharine Hepburn museum which is in the theater.

These will be are never before told stories about Hepburn that we are getting down on tape for all to hear.

Cindy, was a child when she first met Hepburn. Her Grandfather had business dealings with Hepburn’s father and the families continued to stay close until Hepburn’s final days. Hepburn passed at the age of 96.

I was the interviewer and chatted with Cindy as Bob and Peter did the taping.

Cindy told me, as has everyone I have talked to,  how caring Hepburn was, even though many saw her as anything but.

Hepburn was brash, always spoke her mind, but would be there in a flash for those she loved. Cindy thought of Hepburn as an Aunt (Aunt Katy) and spent hours with her thru the years.

Cindy told me about time when she would pick up drift wood in front of Hepburn house. Cindy said Hepburn was quite handy with a chain saw. Can you imagine that?

Cindy told me in the hurricane of 1938 when the Hepburn’s lost their home they ran to her Grandparent’s home for help. It is the grand home in white posted here on this post. Hepburn rebuilt the home in brick which is the one you see here after the wood structure was destroyed. Hepburn did it in one year. Hepburn returned often to Fenwick from Hollywood and spent her last years in the home.

There are so many stories that you will hear in the documentary on Hepburn, this is just whetting your whistle.

**In June of 2011 the new owners of this home who bought it from the Hepburn Estate put it on the market for $28 Million dollars. The home was purchased by Frank Sciame of New York for $6 million. The listing of the house is HERE.

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Related posts:

1. So Much to Say About Katharine Hepburn in a Documentary #1
2. Connecticut’s Katharine Hepburn
3. So Much to Say About Katharine Hepburn in a Documentary #2
4. Hepburn Stamp Unveiled at The Kate
5. Connecticut’s Gem of a Place With a Movie Star Name